The Party’s Three Fundamental Slogans on the Peasant Question

In April 1927, Stalin wrote a reply to comrade Yanski, refuting his wrong views and discussing three fundamental strategic slogans put forward by the party during the whole period of any particular stage of the revolution. It was first published in the 7th and 8th issues of Bolshevik magazine on April 15, 1927. The Chinese translation is included in Vol. 9 of the Complete Works of Stalin.

The letter of Yanski had addressed five issues: First, according to Lenin’s view that “the main question of every revolution is the question of state power”, this letter put forward that fundamental slogans can be correct only if they are based on a Marxist analysis of class forces, if they indicate the correct plan of disposition of the revolutionary forces on the front of the class struggle, and the question of the fundamental slogan of the Party must not be confused with the question of the successes or failures of the revolution at any particular stage of its development, this is an extremely important methodological question. But Yanski’s error consists in overlooking or not understanding this question.

Second, he criticized Yanski’s error of obliterating the difference between the strategic slogan of the Party on the peasant question at the first stage of the revolution (1905 to February 1917) and at the second stage of the revolution (February 1917 to October 1917), and based on the relevant expositions of Lenin, emphasized that the theme of the strategic slogans is the question of the transfer of power from one class to another class, and he has concretely analyzed the differences between the strategic slogan of the Party at the first stage of the revolution which was, “together with the whole of the peasantry, against the Tsar and the landlords, while neutralizing the bourgeoisie, for the victory of the bourgeois-democratic revolution” inasmuch as the whole peasantry was interested in completing the bourgeois revolution, the strategic slogan of the Party in the second stage of the revolution, which was “together with the poor peasantry, against capitalism in town and country, while neutralizing the middle peasantry, for the power of the proletariat”, and pointed out that the former slogan is to march together with the whole of the peasantry for the bourgeois-democratic revolution, whereas the latter slogan is to march together with the poor peasantry against the power of capital and for the proletarian revolution. Stalin pointed out that during the period of the October Revolution, the Party implemented not the old slogan of dictatorship of the proletariat and the peasantry, but the new slogan of the dictatorship of the proletariat and poor peasantry, which Lenin referred to as "allying to itself the mass of the semi-proletarian elements of the population". It was under the slogan of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the poor peasantry that the preparations for the October Revolution were made, the wavering of the middle peasants and the compromises of the petty bourgeoisie were overcome, a powerful political army was assembled, and thus power was transferred from the hands of the bourgeoisie to the hands of the proletariat and the poor peasants, which in turn led to the victory of the October Revolution. In other words, at different stages of the revolution, it was perfectly necessary to substitute one slogan for another.

Third, Stalin criticized Yanski’s error of confusing the beginning and the end of the policy of neutralizing the middle peasant, and according to Lenin’s speech at the Eighth Congress of the Party, he pointed out that in the light of the party’s revolutionary task, while the power of the bourgeoisie is being overthrown arid before the power of the proletariat has been consolidated that the middle peasant wavers and resists most of all. It is precisely in this period that alliance with the poor peasant and neutralization of the middle peasant are necessary. After the victory of the revolution, in 1918, the middle peasants began to “turn towards us”, and at this time, the policy of neutralizing the middle peasant ended. It was precisely after this turning point that the third strategic slogan of the Party, issued by Lenin at the Eighth Party Congress, became possible, namely: while relying on the poor peasants and establishing a stable alliance with the middle peasants—forward to socialist construction!

Fourth, when criticizing Yanski for quoting Lenin’s works, Stalin pointed out that he did not pay attention to the specific historical stage on which Lenin talked about.

Fifth, Stalin pointed out that there are some problems in Yanski’s understanding of Molotov’s articles. He said that Molotov’s article does not contradict with our Party’s slogans regarding the peasantry.

This letter by Stalin clarified the party’s guidelines for formulating the policies on peasantry, enriched and complemented the Marxist theory of peasantry, and has guiding significance on how to deal with the question of peasantry in the process of socialist revolution and socialist construction in countries with backward economy and wherein peasants constitute the majority of the population.